Non-smokers can no longer smugly lord their decreased mortality over smokers, unless they also have a high level of cardiovascular fitness. A new study has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle could be the most deadly way you could possibly live, even more so than smokers or those with diabetes.

We don't tend to think much about balance until we're actually falling over, but the prime time to train and improve your balance is in your 30s and 40s. Thankfully, it doesn't take that much work.

If you’ve been struggling with our deadlift challenge because you don’t have easy access to a gym with barbells and heavy weights, this one’s especially for you. All of us can benefit, though. It’s time to try single-leg deadlifts.

After you've mustered up the willpower to finally check out the gym for the first time, plenty of questions remain: What should you wear? What workout should you do? How does this machine even work? Here's a primer on how to make your first gym experience awesome.

Free weights and machines each have their benefits, but what often keeps us out of the weight room is simple fear of the unknown. So here’s a simple guide on how to pick up weights and put them down again, while looking like you know what you’re doing.

Hope everyone's enjoying the deadlift challenge! Even if you're an old hand with free weights, deadlifts can be tricky to set up because the bar is on the ground, not on a rack, and you'll soon be dealing with weights that are heavy enough to be unwieldy.

Core exercises will build up your abs, but they do nothing for the layer of fat on top of them. Likewise, no leg exercise can give you slimmer thighs. And yet headlines and tweets about shrinking specific body parts abound -- even when the articles themselves contradict the headline.

Trying to find the perfect iOS apps can be tough, and we’re willing to bet that your iPhone or iPad is full of pages and pages of apps. There’s just so much out there, it’s hard to come up with a short list of favourites. We understand. Allow us to help you with our freshly updated Lifehacker Pack for iOS.

Which Android app is worth a spot on your new smartphone or tablet? Trying to find the very best of the best is a challenging process, because there are millions of apps to pick from on the Google Play Store. Even if you just scan Google’s “top free” or “top paid” list on a daily basis, you’ll miss out on a lot of digital gems. Allow us to help you out with our freshly updated Lifehacker Pack for Android.

When I took a dance class with my husband years ago, the instructor told us that any couples in the class should split up and dance with others. "We have a tendency to say things to our partner that we wouldn't to other people," I remember her saying. "Like, 'Honey, you're doing it wrong.'"

We're deadlifting this month, and I'd love to hear how it's going for everyone so far. (I did one workout already, and will try to get in two next week.) But if you're new to this, or if you find the move intimidating, we have some suggestions for how to prepare.

September is over, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop running. Last month in our fitness challenge I asked you to walk or to run, and if you took even a little bit of my advice, you’ve gone out a few times and probably gotten stronger and faster — even if you haven’t realised it yet.

Whenever I don't have access to a gym because of travels, I start to miss certain movements. Deadlifts are one of them. I never thought I could benefit from them without heavy weight, but thankfully, Al Kavadlo proves that you can still build those important back muscles with body weight only.

Welcome back, friends! We’ve done a lot of bodyweight exercises in our fitness challenges, and last month we got out on the road for some running or walking. This month we head into the gym for some heavy lifting — but don’t worry, even if you don’t have a gym membership we’ll have options for you too.

It’s time to run (or walk, or otherwise locomote under your own power) one whole kilometre. Then take a break. And if you still have it in you, do it again. That’s right, we’re doing kilometre repeats this week in the Lifehacker Fitness Challenge.

About five years ago, I came to a major crossroads in my life. While work was going OK - I'd left a lucrative but unenjoyable job because I was so desperately unhappy and decided to freelance - my physical, mental and spiritual health were smashed. And, after messing around with my teenage son during basketball training, I spent the next two weeks walking like I'd been shot in the butt, having given my hamstring a decent twang.

Something had to change. On 6 January 2013 I decided to do something about it. Here's how I became a runner.

There are two main upsides to running: It’s a great and efficient form of exercise, and it’s also a way to get lost in nature and thought for 45 minutes to an hour (or however long your run is) with few to no distractions.

Android: With its latest redesign, Google Fit no longer makes a big deal about your steps for the day (although the number is still there, in fine print). Instead, you’re supposed to be tracking your Move Minutes and the mysterious Heart Points.

It’s surprisingly easy to get stuck in a rut. Choose the same path two or three times when you start a running or walking habit, and suddenly that path becomes an unquestioned part of your workout. Or maybe you vary your location, but you always do a 5K at “oh my god I’m going to die” pace. Well, stop it.